How do native English speakers feel when listening to an English song by non-natives?
It's an interesting question for me. I know that ABBA was popular in Great Britain and Australia, but as you know, it's a Swedish pop group and I guess all singers have a foreign accent. Agnetha Faltskog could barely speak English at that time. There are many other popular non-English bands and singers singing in English (Shakira, Scorpions, some Ramsteins's songs etc).
Do you like to listen those bands? Does accent bother you?
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 3
2
I think because English isn't their first language it makes them unique, and as long as they can sing, be poetic, or have some other defining factor people can like them for it. I've heard different languages can sometimes change the way you think and your personality, I think this also affects singers who write their own music. I'm huge fan of Bjork, and I like her Icelandic and non-icelandic songs.
We're becoming more global with the internet, many English speakers are really into K-pop and J-pop bands now, most of which they can't even understand the lyrics for.
1
It can be somewhat entertaining. When I was in China I would hear lines of English all the time in songs, and it was often pretty average ;)
0
I don't think we give much thought to a singer's first language.
ABBA was one of the top groups here in the U.S. Sometimes an accent can add a lot to a sound.
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